Shipping-crate.



L. H. WYM'AN.

SHIPPING CRATE. APPLIUAVTION FILED IAN.17, 1911.

1,003,573. Patented Sept. 19,1911.

2 BHEBTBH-SBBET 1.

Inventor Attorneys L. 11,.,WYMAN. SHIPPING CRATE.

APPLICATION FILED JAN.17, 1911.

Patented Sept.' 19, 19,11.

Witnesses Attorneys bnn Lnwrs HENRY WYMAN, or enteran,

TEXAS.

SHIPPING-CRATE.

Specification of Letters Patent. Application filed January 17, 1911.

Patented Sept. 19, 1911. Serial No. 603,137.

To all whom it may concern:

e it known that I, Lnwrs H. VVYMAN, a citizen of the United States, residing at Quanah, in the county of Hardeman and State of Texas, have invented a new and useful Shipping-Crate, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to delivering and shipping crates for soda water, mineral waters, beer and other bottled beverages, and has for its object the provision of a compact and durable crate in which the bottles may be held in a novel manner, said crate being provided with a sectional closure made up of slidable members, said members being constantly held to the crate body so that they will not become lost or separated there from.

A further object is to provide a crate the closure sections of which are movable to the sides of the crate so as to occupy the minimum space when the crate is opened.

A further object is to provide means whereby the closure sections can be engaged by means of a seal or other device while the crate is being transported.

TVith the foregoing and other objects in view which will appear' as the description proceeds, the invention resides in the combination and arrangement of parts and in the details of construction hereinafter described and claimed, it being understood that changes in the precise embodiment of the invention herein disclosed can be made within the scope of what is claimed without departing from the spirit of the invention.

Tn the accompanying drawings the preferred form of the invention has been shown.

1n said drawings :Figure 1 is a perspective view of a crate constructed in accordance with the present invention, the same being' closed and sealed. F ig. 2 is a central vertical longitudinal section through the crate. Fig. 3 is a central vertical transverse section through said crate. Fig. 4 is perspective view of one corner of one of the slidable closures. Fig. 5 is a sect-ion on line A Fig. 2.

Referring' to the figures by characters of reference 1 designates end cross strips between which are arranged one or more intermediate cross strips 2, all of these cross strips being secured at their ends to side strips 3. Parallel bottom strips or slats t are secured to the lower edges of the cross strips and side strips and a bottom board 5 is fastened upon the upper edges of the cross strips and between the upper edges of the side-strips as indicated in Fig. 3, this bottom board being provided with a number of openings 6 arranged in parallel series. Corner strips or posts 7 are secured to the end portions of the end strips 1 and are connected, at their upper ends, by upper side strips 8 and by cross guide strips 9. Each of these guide strips has tongues 10 extending from the ends thereof and which project over and beyond the upper side strips S, there being a longitudinal groove 11 within the inner face of each of these guide strips 9 and which groove extends to the ends of the tongues 10. vSpacing blocks 1.2 are preferably secured within the middle portions of the channels and each of these blocks also constitutes the support for the middle portion of a guide rod 13. This rod extends longitudinally within the channel and is spaced from the walls thereof, the terminals of the rod being extended beyond the outer ends of the channel and hooked as shown at 14, the extremity of each hook being embedded in the adjacent strip 8.

A wire, such as has been indicated at 15, is threaded through the guide strips 9 and the upper side strips 8 so as to extend longitudinally and transversely within the upper portion of the crate, thus forming rectangular spaces, the middle portion of each space being directly over one of the openings 6.

The top ofthe crate is adapted to be closed by means of oppositely disposed sections 16, the ends of'these sections being adapted to project into the channels 11 and the outer side portions of the sections being constant-ly supported by the strips S. The inner side portions of the sect-ions have rods 17 arranged longitudinally thereon and terminating in eyes 18 which sildably engage the rods 18. These rods 17 are held to the sections 16 by means of straps 19 embracing the inner edge portions of the sections 16 as clearly indicated in Figs. 8 and 4. The middle portions of the rods 17 are embraced by straps 2O secured to the sections 16 and each forms an eye 21 projecting beyond the inner edge portion of the section 16 to which it is attached, the eye portions of the two rods 17 being disposed directly opposite each other. These sections 16, when closed, abut against the spacing blocks 12 and, when they are thus arranged, a seal, such as has been indicated vat 22, may be inserted through the eyes 21 and secured so that it will be impossible to open the crate without breaking the seal or some part of the crate. To open the crate, the seal zz 1s broken and the closure sections 16 are slid laterally until the eyes 1S arrive within the hooked portions 14 of the rods 13, whereupon the said closure sections will swing downwardly against the sides of the crate and the entire interior of the crate will thus be exposed.

rlhe bottles within the crate are supported with their necks downward and arranged within the openings 6, the large ends of the bottles being located within the spaces formed between the crossed wires 15. It will be apparent therefore that the box-like base formed by the strips 1 and 3, the slats 4' and the board 5, forms a receiver for the necks of the bottles and protects them from injury.

As it is necessary to firstslide the closure sections laterally for a distance substantially equal to the width thereof before said sections can be swung downwardly, it will be apparent that the crates cannot be opened, when stored within a wagon body or the like, unless the crate to be opened is first placed in a position permitting the necessary sliding movement of the closure sections, after the seal has been broken. '1`he danger of surreptitious removal of the contents of the crate is thus reduced to the minimum.

That is claimed is z- 1. A crate including longitudinally channeled guide strips, guide rods extending lon gitudinally within t ie channels and having terminal hooks projecting beyond opposed walls of the crate, closure sections having their ends slidably mounted within the guides and held thereby from tilting until completely open, and means extending from the inner corner portions of the closure sections Copies of this patent may be obtained for live cents each, by addressing the and slidably engaging the rods, for engaging the hooks to support the closure below the top of and parallel with the sides of the crate.

Q. A crate including channeled guide strips, closure sections s idably mounted, at their ends, within the channels, said strips constituting means for preventing the closure sect-ions from swinging open while entirely or partly closed, guide rods extending longitudinally within the channels and having terminal hooks projecting beyond the ends of the guide strips, and eyes eX- tending from the inner corner portions of the closure sections and slidably mounted on the rods, said eyes being movable onto the hooked terminals to permit swinging of the closure sections when withdrawn from the channels, and to support the sections.

3. A crate including longitudinally channeled guide strips, closure sections having their ends slidablyv mounted within the channels, said strips constituting means for preventing the sections from swinging while in closed or partly closed positions, guide rods extending longitudinally within the channels and having terminal hooks projecting beyond the ends of the strips, rods secured along the inner longitudinal edges of the closures, and having terminal eyes projecting from the inner corners of said closures, said eyes slidably engaging the guide rods and being movable onto the hooked terminals to support the closure sections when moved out of the channels, each of said rods having an offset seal engaging intermediate portion.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own, I have hereto atlixed my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

LEVIS HENRY YVYMAN.

Witnesses W. P. S'ronns, J. H. Bonnes.

Commissioner of Patents.

Washington, D. C." 

